Morning journal and courier., 1887-03-18

and hold us spellbound by elegant and elo- quent expressions. But l ask you tonight 'to hear me for my cause,'' for I speak in the interest of the people. The subject I have been asked to speak upon is Protection and Free Trade" 1 shall try and compare the two systems as best I can in the short time at my command.
 There is no subject so much discussed, so little understood and of so much importance as the tariff question. I shall try and make myself understood, if possible, by simple and practical illustrations, drawing my argu- ments from observations, facts and statistics: Reading and experience teaches me also that the more industrious people the better 1t IS for all. Whatever, therefore, benefits indus try and gives labor it's due reward should re- ceive our support. The people of this coun- try should be governed and guided by intel ligence when we touch or talk upon great questions. With them the people have to deal, and it is of vital importance to every man, woman and child that we deal with them as become great nation. The veal or woe of this country is in our hands as sover- eigns of this republic and we should act with judgment, sobriety and sound discre- tion.
 times of peace is about $500, ,000, 900. How is this amount raised without direct taxationz will tell you. By aid of the protective tar if we raise some $200, ,000, ,000 By internal revenue, sale of lands, profits on coinage and fines for evading our laws and perhaps some minor matters we raise the remainder. Un- less raised in this way how shall this $30O,- GOO 900 be collected so as to have the expense bear as lightly as possible on the people; and may not this expense, instesd of being a burden by direct taxation. be turned to our advantage and benefit by the aid of our pro- teetive laws. This is what we call the Amer ican system.
 The other system of free trade and direct taxation is the English system, and it is with these two systems l propose to deal with to- night.
 MT. Sperry then went on to tell what a tariff was and to define it's meaning.
 He then went on to state to the ladies that the admission to a ladies' fair was simply a tariff. It allowed the people 10 attend their fair the same way as goods are introduced into this country by paying toll or duty. A the government, and to protect the people of this country against the cheap foreign products. The speaker next remarked on a tariff for revenue, and explained that free traders would not admit the principal of pro- lection in revenue tariff. If we could make abroad the free traders would lay the tariff alike on each; in other words, they would not discriminate.
 The speaker spoke of free trade, and that if it meant anything it meant the abolition of all custom houses and direct tax to sup port the government. The protectionist would not lay duties only upon such articles as we produce. For instance, tea and coffee we do not produce, and they do not come into competition with our labor, so we place no duties on them. Protectionists claim that when we can produce certain articles as cheaply here as elsewhere, and with safety, without destructionsof labor or capital, they would put them on the free list
 h comparing free trade with protection to- night, shall speak of 1860 as free trade times; and from 1861 to the present time, over a quarter of century, refer to as the time when we live under protective laws. When I speak of England I mean Free Trade England, and when speak of America mean Protective America.
 Let ue look for moment at what our merchants were doing in 1860, the goods they sold, the prices they sold for then and those they sell for now. In the general hard ware business 90 per cent. of the goods on the shelves in 1860 were foreign, with prices high. In the dry goods trade from 95 to 90 per cent. of the goods were foreign, and prices high To-day from 85 to 90 per cent. of the goods are Am erican goods, and prices from 20 to 40 per cent. lower. With fancy goods it is pretty much the same. Coffee is as dear to-day without duties as it was in 1S60 In 1860 from 95 to 90 per cent. of the carpets were foreign, and prices high; to-day there a1e probably not $100 worth of foreign carpets in the city of New Haven, and prices lower, far lower than in 1960 ''I might, said Mr. Sperry ,end my discussion here, for it covers all that is necessary to establish points In favor of protection.
 But let us look again. Take for instance Orange street a dividing line and suppose it runs through the entire city of New Ha- ven. The west side we will say is England. They are manufacturing goods and paying from seventy five to eighty csnts day less than we manufacture for, and in many cases more than dollar less. Take the east side of Orange street, which we will say is Amer ica for the sake of argument. Suppose they are manufacturing and paying from seventy cents to one dollar more than the English side. How long can the two stand the prices paid for labor and compete in the worlds market? And yet this is the same condition today between England and America.
 With the tariff off England would flood this country with foreign goods in spite of us, unless labor could be had as cheap here as abroad. Nothing but the tariff protects us in our wages here, except the small amount paid for freight between England and America. We must either stand the rs- duced price of wages if the tariff is of, else we must escape to the fields and go to farm ing. But the free e-traders say it kills the farmer, shese high protection duties, because it makes them pay more for things than if there was no tariff.
 Let us see Under free trade it took Q dozen of eggs to buy spool of thread. Un- dei protection dozen of eggs will buy from seysI1 tc eight spools of thread. So with al- 1nost eyerythinS the farmer has to sell or buy. He gains beoause under our tariff laws we are enabled to manufacture, and when once started in manufacturing, competition steps in and reduces the price. Fake the farm lands. In manufacturing counties, where the farmer finds manufacturing plen- ty, and in the non-manufacturing counties, there is much difference ip the worth of the land In the former,i in this State, the farm ing land is worth $1 .84 an acre; in the lat- ter instance $34. 68 per acre.
 We raise about $2, 900, GOO worth of tobacco in this State alone. There is duty of about 35 cents per pound on foreign tobacco. Our
 farmers here could not compete with the
 great island of Sumatra ,withlabor at cents a day there and one pound of Slmatra tobacco
 going as far as four pounds of our own, # 1t
 were not for the dnty. The farmers here
 would have to cease raising the tabaceo and
 the $2, 900, 900 now raised by thst duty would
 be done away with.
 The traders say protection is a robber be- cause every man who buys has to pay the expenses os the government. Is it not so
 with State taxationl Does not every business man expect when he sells his goods that the consumer of those goods must pay his taEes and his profits besides? Precisely in the same way do we pay under tariff. But the free traders say we should ell become farm CTS and allow England to furnish ns with manufacturing articles. This would leave ns purely an agricultural country and we would be obliged to depend on the products of the soil for living. But countries that depend on agriculture alone for support are always poor and famine often follows, because if their soil crop fails all fails
 MT. Sperry gave several emphatic and con- elusive illustrations on the claim of free traders that protection is 8 robber, among